Air-tight container system for cookies or other food items

ABSTRACT

An exemplary embodiment of a container system includes a container vessel, a lid configured to attach to the vessel, and a seal or gasket member for providing a seal between the vessel and the lid which is substantially air-tight.

BACKGROUND

This invention is particularly suited to the storage of perishable items, e.g. food items such as cookies, baked goods and the like. Cookie tins have been used for storage of such food items in the past, and typically include a metal vessel of a round or rectilinear footprint, and a metal lid with a flat top surface, which is pressed onto the open top of the vessel. These cookie tins can be relatively inexpensive, but the seal between the lid and vessel is not air-tight, which can lead to staleness and have other problems. These metal tins are prone to dents and rust.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the disclosure will readily be appreciated by persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of a container system for storing items or foods such as cookies or the like.

FIG. 2 is a front exploded view of the container system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a top view of the container system of FIG. 1. FIG. 3B is a cross-section taken along line 3B-3B of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of a sealing gasket configured for use with the container system of FIG. 1. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the sealing gasket taken along line 4B-5B of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5A is a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a container vessel of the container system of FIG. 1. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5C is an enlarged view of the portion of the container vessel indicated in circle 5C shown in FIG. 5B.

FIG. 6A is a bottom view of the lid of the container system of FIG. 1. FIGS. 6B, 6C and 6D are partial cross-section views of the periphery of the lid, taken along respective lines 6B-6B, 6C-6C and 6D-6D of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of three container systems of different sizes shown in a nested, storage configuration. FIG. 7B is an isometric view illustrating the three container systems of FIG. 7, shown in a stacked configuration, with ribbons securing the three systems in the stacked configuration.

FIG. 8A is a front plan view of a stacked set of like sized container systems. FIG. 8B is a cross-section view of the staked set. FIG. 8C is a diagrammatic partial cross-section view of the two stacked container systems, of the portion within circle 8C shown in FIG. 8B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description and in the several figures of the drawing, like elements are identified with like reference numerals.

This invention is directed to containers for various items, and is particularly suited to storage of perishables, such as food items such as cookies or the like. An exemplary embodiment of a container system includes a container vessel, a lid configured to attach to the vessel, and a seal or gasket member for providing a seal between the vessel and the lid which is substantially air-tight. Other embodiments include a plurality of the container systems which are configured for nesting together in a storage configuration, and which may be stacked one atop the other in a stacked configuration, and which may be secured in the stacked configuration by ribbon or tie members passed through respective openings in the periphery of the lids.

FIGS. 1-8 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a container system 50. The system includes a container vessel 60, a lid 80, and a sealing gasket or seal 70. The lid is configured to snap onto the top periphery of the vessel, and the gasket is held within a channel in the bottom periphery of the lid to engage the vessel in a sealing arrangement.

In an exemplary embodiment, the vessel 60 is fabricated of a thermoplastic material such as polypropylene, although other plastic or metal materials may be employed. The vessel may be fabricated as an integral structure by injection molding. In this embodiment, the vessel 60 has a circular footprint, with a sidewall portion 64 (FIG. 2 and FIGS. 5A-5C) formed of an inverted frustoconical configuration, with a slight taper from the somewhat large diameter of the open top 66 of the vessel to the somewhat smaller diameter of the bottom floor portion 62 of the vessel. Other embodiments may have other configurations, such as oval or rectilinear footprints. The open top of the vessel is circumscribed by a locking lip portion 68 with a downwardly protruding lip leg portion 68B and a top flat portion 68D, that provides rigidity to the vessel, and a locking bottom surface portion 68C to form a locking detent engagement surface with the lid 80. Inner sealing surface portion 68A provides a uniform surface for sealing with the seal 70 to provide an airtight leak proof seal. In other embodiments, the locking detent engagement surface may be formed in other ways or by other structural features. For example, the locking detent engagement surface may be formed as a protrusion from or a recess into the vessel sidewall.

The seal 70 is illustrated in further detail in FIGS. 4A-4B. In this exemplary embodiment, the seal is separately molded as a separate element from the lid and placed into a seal channel defined in the lid. An exemplary suitable material for the seal is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), although other materials may alternatively be employed. In other embodiments, the seal may be molded into the lid as a second injection. The seal includes a main body portion 72 and a leg portion 74. The main body 72 of the seal is pushed and squeezed into a receiving channel 86 (FIG. 6B) of the lid 80 and is held in place by friction and compression between the channel walls. The sealing surface 74A of the seal is located at the bottom edge of the leg of the seal.

The lid 80 is shown in further detail in FIGS. 3B and 6A-6D. The lid in this exemplary embodiment is fabricated as a unitary structure, e.g. injection molded from polypropylene, and includes a peripheral structure portion 82 and a lid web portion 84 enclosing the area surrounded by the peripheral structure portion. The peripheral portion 82 defines downwardly projecting rib portions 83, 85 which in turn define a seal channel 86. The seal channel provides a secure location for the seal 70 to be held on the lid. Stop rib 88 occurs at uniform intervals around the periphery of the lid, and provides a stop for the vessel and signal to the user the lid is completely engaged with the vessel. The peripheral portion 82 further includes a downwardly protruding lid wall portion 90, with an interior surface from which a latch detent 90A provides a latching mechanism to hold the lid in place on the vessel. The latch detent in an exemplary embodiment in an exemplary embodiment is not a continuous detent feature around the entire periphery, and instead there are several latch detents defined around the periphery. The number and size of the detent surfaces assist in determining the force needed to secure the lid in place on the vessel, and to remove the lid from the vessel. In other embodiments, the latch detent surface may be a continuous surface around the periphery of the lid wall portion 90.

The lid peripheral portion 82 further includes ribbon lock channels 94 which provides an opening for insertion of a stacking ribbon or other binding or tying material suitable for insertion into an opening, and a ribbon lock member 92 provides for secure holding of the ribbon. In an exemplary embodiment, the ribbon lock 92 is integrally formed with the lid for a secure and sturdy design.

In operation, the lid 80 is placed over the open top of the vessel 60, and the sealing surface 74A of the seal is pressed on the top edge surface portion 68D of the vessel as the lid is attached to the vessel. As the leg portion 74 of the seal touches the vessel wall, the sidewall exerts a force on the leg portion, causing it rotate about 72A and become more parallel to the vessel wall, as shown in FIG. 8C, thereby providing an opposing outward sealing force against the wall of the vessel. At that time the sealing surface 74A is pushing outward against the vertical walls of the vessel interior thereby providing an air tight leak proof seal with the vessel and lid, as illustrated for example in FIGS. 3B and 8C. As the lid is pressed onto the vessel, the stop surface 88 of the lid will come into engagement with the top surface portion 68D of the vessel peripheral lip, and the lid latch detents 90A will engage the surface 68C of the vessel. To remove the lid from the vessel, one or more of the lid latch detents are pulled outwardly by the user away from the surface 68C, and the lid pulled off the vessel.

Several of the container systems may be fabricated of different sizes, forming a container set 150 configured for storage in a nested configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 7A. Here, respective container systems 50-1, 50-2 and 50-3 are shown in a diagrammatic cross-section view, with system 50-3 nested inside system 50-2, and system 50-2 in turn nested inside system 50-1. This allows the set of containers to be stored in reduced space, each in an assembled condition, than if the containers were stored separately In one exemplary embodiment of the set of containers, the largest system 50-1 has an outer diameter (width) dimension of 10.4 inches, and a height dimension of 3.8 inches, the medium system 50-2 has an outer diameter dimension of 8.4 inches, and a height dimension of 3.3 inches, and the smallest system 50-3 has an outer diameter dimension of 6.4 inches and a height dimension of 2.8 inches.

The set 150 of containers can also be secured together in a stacked configuration, as shown in FIG. 7B. In this configuration, the containers may each be filled with goods, e.g. cookies or the like, and the stacked container set secured by flexible tie members such as ribbons passed through the ribbon channels of each lid. The respective ends of two ties or ribbons 152, 154 can be passed through the aligned ribbon channels of the stacked containers, and tied together to secure the stack.

The vessel 60 may be provided at its bottom peripheral edge with a circular stacking foot 62A (FIG. 8), which may be sized to be received within a depression or recess 96 formed in the top surface of the lid 80, and to fit adjacent to an alignment and retaining face surface 94 defining the edge of the recess. This allows for the vessel of one container system 50 to be stacked on top of the lid of another container system of the same or larger size. The lid depression area 96 provides secure stacking of like sized product.

Although the foregoing has been a description and illustration of specific embodiments of the invention, various modifications and changes thereto can be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 

1. A container system, comprising: a container vessel, the vessel having a bottom floor portion, a sidewall portion and an open top, the vessel having a vessel sealing surface at or adjacent the open top and a locking detent engagement surface; a lid configured to attach to the vessel, the lid fabricated as a unitary structure and including a peripheral structure portion and a lid web portion enclosing the area surrounded by the peripheral structure portion, the peripheral structure portion including a downwardly protruding lid wall portion; and a seal structure carried by the lid, the seal structure for providing a peripheral seal between the vessel and the lid which is substantially air-tight when the lid is attached to the vessel, the seal structure including an elastomeric peripheral portion protruding generally outwardly around an entire interior peripheral region of the lid toward said lid wall portion, the peripheral portion configured to engage against the vessel seal surface as the lid is being positioned onto the top of the vessel, the elastomeric peripheral portion configured to be deflected by the vessel seal surface and rotated toward the open top of the vessel such that a sealing surface of the seal structure engages the vessel sealing surface to provide a substantially air tight seal between the lid and the vessel.
 2. The container system of claim 1, wherein the open top of the container vessel has a generally circular periphery.
 3. The container system of claim 1, wherein the container vessel and the lid are each fabricated from a thermoplastic material.
 4. The container system of claim 1, wherein the vessel sealing surface is formed by an inner surface of the sidewall portion.
 5. The container system of claim 1, wherein the vessel has a circular footprint, and the sidewall portion has an inverted frustoconical configuration, with a slight taper from a somewhat large diameter of the open top of the vessel to a somewhat smaller diameter of the bottom floor portion of the vessel.
 6. The container system of claim 5, wherein the vessel bottom floor portion has a downwardly protruding peripheral stacking rib, and the lid has a stacking feature defined in a top surface to receive a stacking rib of the bottom floor of a like-sized second vessel of a second container system in a stacked configuration.
 7. The container system of claim 1, wherein the peripheral structure portion of the lid further includes a latch detent to provide a latching mechanism to engage the locking detent engagement surface of the vessel to hold the lid in place on the vessel.
 8. The container system of claim 1, wherein the peripheral lid portion includes a plurality of lock channels which each define an opening for insertion of a stacking binding element to provide for secure holding of the binding element, to facilitate tying together a plurality of container systems in a stacked configuration.
 9. A container set of a plurality of different sized container systems according to claim 1, the plurality of container systems including first and second container systems, the first system sized to accommodate the second system within the vessel of the first system in a nested configuration.
 10. A container set according to claim 9, further comprising a third container system configured to fit within the vessel of the second container system in the nested configuration.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the seal structure comprises a separate seal member, the lid peripheral structure includes a peripheral seal channel, and the seal structure includes a main body portion and a leg portion, the main body portion positioned in the seal channel of the lid, and the sealing surface is located at the bottom edge of the leg of the seal to engage the vessel sealing surface as the lid is positioned onto the top of the vessel.
 12. A container system, comprising: a container vessel fabricated from a thermoplastic material, the vessel having a bottom floor portion, a sidewall portion and an open top circumscribed by a locking lip portion with a downwardly protruding lip leg portion and a top flat portion, and a locking bottom surface portion to form a locking detent engagement surface, the vessel having a vessel sealing surface at or adjacent the locking lip portion; a lid configured to attach to the vessel, the lid fabricated as a unitary structure and including a peripheral structure portion and a lid web portion enclosing the area surrounded by the peripheral structure portion, the peripheral portion defining a seal channel and further including a downwardly protruding lid wall portion, with an interior surface from which a latch detent protrudes; and a seal member for providing a seal between the vessel and the lid which is substantially air-tight when the lid is attached to the vessel, the seal including a main body portion and a leg portion, the main body portion positioned in the seal channel of the lid, and a sealing surface located at the bottom edge of the leg portion of the seal to engage the vessel sealing surface as the lid is positioned onto the top of the vessel.
 13. The container system of claim 12, wherein the open top of the container vessel has a generally circular periphery.
 14. The container system of claim 12, wherein the seal member is fabricated of an elastomeric material.
 15. The container system of claim 12, wherein the vessel sealing surface is formed by an inner surface of the sidewall portion.
 16. The container system of claim 12, wherein the vessel has a circular footprint, and the sidewall portion has an inverted frustoconical configuration, with a taper from a somewhat large diameter of the open top of the vessel to a somewhat smaller diameter of the bottom floor portion of the vessel.
 17. The container system of claim 12, wherein the vessel bottom floor portion has a downwardly protruding peripheral stacking rib, and the lid has a stacking feature defined in a top surface to receive a stacking rib of the bottom floor of a like-sized second vessel of a second container system in a stacked configuration.
 18. The container system of claim 12, wherein the peripheral lid portion includes a plurality of lock channels which each define an opening for insertion of a stacking binding element to provide for secure holding of the binding element, to facilitate tying together a plurality of container systems in a stacked configuration.
 19. A container set of a plurality of different sized container systems according to claim 12, the plurality of container systems including first and second container systems, the first system sized to accommodate the second system within the vessel of the first system in a nested configuration.
 20. A container set according to claim 19, further comprising a third container system configured to fit within the vessel of the second container system in the nested configuration.
 21. The system of claim 12, wherein the seal member is fabricated of an elastomeric material, and said leg portion is configured to be deflected by the vessel seal surface and rotated toward the open top of the vessel as the lid is brought into contact with the vessel such that the sealing surface of the seal member engages the vessel sealing surface to provide a substantially air tight seal between the lid and the vessel.
 22. The system of claim 12, wherein the lid is fabricated from a thermoplastic material.
 23. A container set of a plurality of like or differently sized container systems, each container system including a container vessel having an open top, and a lid for removable attachment to the open top of the vessel; and wherein a peripheral lid portion of each lid includes a plurality of lock channels which each define an opening for insertion of a stacking binding element to provide for secure holding of the binding element, to facilitate tying together said plurality of container systems in a stacked configuration.
 24. The container set of claim 23, wherein each container system includes a peripheral seal structure between the vessel and the lid which is substantially air-tight when the lid is attached to the vessel.
 25. The container set of claim 23, wherein a peripheral structure portion of the lid includes a latch detent to provide a latching mechanism to engage the vessel to hold the lid in place on the vessel.
 26. The container set of claim 23, wherein the plurality of container systems includes first and second container systems, the first system sized to accommodate the second system within the vessel of the first system in a nested configuration. 